Sounds a fairly innocuous type of title, doesn't it? The end result is a very long way from being bland and uninteresting though - it most definitely registered with me as being total satisfaction on a plate.
It wasn't so much the enormity of the pork chop (which was fairly impressive), nor the rich flavour of the wine (which was very apparent) - it was the sheer depth of flavour involved in the sauce. That sauce was just the embodiment of umami (which for those who may not know, is "savouriness" - one of the five basic tastes together with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty).
The sauce begins life with the flavour of the pork as it sears in the hot pan, then there's a soft roundness of well cooked garlic - both fried and poached, the red wine and hint of bay leaf, the beef stock (yes, beef!) and all brought together finally by a tablespoonful of balsamic vinegar and that last knob of butter. Oh holy gravy, Batman, but it's good.
I still can't quite believe that those few ingredients made such a stellar sauce.
On the menu planning post when I first talked about this dish, I was a little bit concerned about the garlic, as I can be quite sensitive to raw garlic. I had been a bit nonplussed by the sight of "18 cloves of garlic" in the ingredients list - but then realised that the original recipe fed 6 people, so promptly halved the quantities. At 3 garlic cloves each, it doesn't seem quite so scary.
On the other hand, though, I was quite keen to use our lovely plump "jumbo" garlic that we'd picked up - quite by accident - recently. As soon as the cloves went into the pan and began to soften and turn golden, I started to see where the whole garlic thing was going. Once they are softened and golden, they are then poached in the red wine and stock until butter-soft. There's no trace of raw garlic left, by then, just beautifully sweet, gentle garlic that went fantastically well with the baked Jelly potato I served it with.
Everybody loved this dish - even hubby, although he had some issues with the fluid nature of the sauce, preferring his sauces to be more robust in consistency. Son and heir ate his way through his dinner uttering appreciative "mmmmn's" and "ooooh's" at appropriate moments.
As an easy to prepare meal for a special someone, or for a dinner party (perhaps not with a jacket potato though!), this one ticks all the boxes.
I'm not sure whether the recipe originated with www.tastykitchen.com or with The Pioneer Woman - but whoever it was, they deserve my applause and thanks! Do, please, try this recipe. It is honestly one of the best I've tried and if you're yearning for something that is really meaty and especially savoury, it will deliver that in spades!
PORK CHOPS WITH WINE AND GARLIC (feeds 3)
Ingredients :
2 whole pork chops
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
9 peeled garlic cloves
1 glass red wine (standard wine glass size)
1 glass hot water
1 beef stock cube (I used oxo)
1 whole bay leaf
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp additional butter.
Method :
1. Heat butter and oil in a wide-bottomed frying pan over a high heat.
2. Pepper both sides of the pork chops (use salt only if you're using a low salt stock cube) and sear on both sides until they are nice and golden - about 2-3 minutes each side. There is no need to completely cook the chops at this point). Remove the chops and reserve somewhere to keep warm.
3. Reduce the heat slightly, then add the garlic cloves. Keep them moving so as not to burn, until they are golden and softened.
4. Add the red wine and bay leaf. Stir it around to de-glaze the pan and let it reduce, increasing the heat if necessary. Continue to cook until the sauce is nice and thick.
5. Add the water and crumble in the stock cube. Mix well.
6. Return the chops to the pan, getting as much of the meat to submerge as possible. Allow the sauce to bubble around the chops until you are sure that the meat is on the verge of being cooked.
7. Add the balsamic vinegar and shake the pan to distribute it evenly. (It's almost impossible to stir, with the chops in there too!). Cook until the chops are done.
8. Remove the chops from the pan once more (keeping them warm) and let the sauce reduce further if needed, until it is rich and thick and the garlic is butter-soft.
9. Add the final knob of butter and stir it in as it melts. Season to taste and serve.
.
I'd had it in the back of my mind that it would be interesting to work with cranberries a little, over this Christmas period. I had never tussled with the little lovelies before, yet I know for sure that Cranberry Juice is one of the family favourites (as and when we can find some that's affordable or not sweetened with Aspartame), so there was no reason to believe we wouldn't like them.
Hence, when I spotted the recipe for "Red cabbage with balsamic vinegar & cranberries" (ridiculously long name!) in the Christmas edition of Good Food Magazine, it was a definite "cut out and keep" moment.
I'm not sure which thought came first, the "I should make Corned Beef Pie" or the "I should make the Red Cabbage & Cranberries - Corned Beef Pie will go well with it" thought. I suspect that they happened around the same time, as I seem to have been pairing them up in my mind since that moment.
As red cabbage and cranberries are both good from an anti-inflammatory point of view, I was even keener to make this dish.
It really is simplicity personified to make. It's a one-pot, on the hob, no fuss series of ingredients being included and stirred. I will admit to tinkering about with it slightly, in that I completely abhor the flavour of cloves for some reason, so I included caraway seeds instead. Caraway is a perfectly compatible flavour, but if you prefer cloves, then by all means swap it back!
I loved the end result. It did indeed go extremely well with the Corned Beef Pie, in that the sweetness from the fruit and balsamic was a perfect foil for the chilli heat involved with the pie. I've got to say that, even when I ate the remainder for lunch the following day - cold, with the remains of the Corned Beef Pie - it was just as lovely. I'm thinking that, cold, it would make a gorgeous barbecue side dish for those balmy evenings we're supposed to get, come summer!
RED CABBAGE WITH CRANBERRIES (serves 4)
Ingredients :
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tsp caraway seeds (or ground cloves, if you prefer)
Half a red cabbage, quartered cored and thinly sliced
100ml vegetable stock
1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
50g brown sugar
100g fresh cranberries.
Method :
1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and fry on a low to medium heat, stirring every now and then for around 10 minutes or until they start to caramelise.
2. Stir in the caraway seeds (or cloves) then add the cabbage and continue cooking, stirring more frequently to distribute the cabbage evenly across the pan and prevent burning, until the cabbage has started to soften.
3. Pour in the stock, add the vinegar and sugar, then cover and cook for 10 minutes. You may need to give it all a stir or two around the end of the cooking time, just to check how the liquid levels are doing.
4. Stir in the cranberries and cook for another 10 minutes. You may need to add a little more water, if the pan appears to be going dry.
5. Once the cranberries are softened and beginning to burst, remove from the heat and season to taste.
6. Serve.
It's a bit of a long title that one, isn't it? However, the title is the hardest part of this meal - and I'll treat it as a meal, rather than three separate dishes, as it all went so well together. With no pots or pans to wash up, this one is definitely a winner in my book!
To begin with, I set to with scrubbing the sweet potatoes. Their skins never appeal as far as eating them is concerned - although they're very tasty, in fact - but I like to make sure they're scrupulously clean, all the same. I always top and tail them too, as these bits always seem so gnarly, I can imagine dirt can't help but hide in there. If I was dirt, I would.
I then dry them off, rub them with olive oil, liberally sprinkle with salt & pepper and into the oven they go for their first half an hour.
Next, I tackled the pork steaks - which was easy enough. They just needed the bulk of the fat trimming from their backs and they were good to go. Dustbin 1 (Jonty) was on hand for this operation, just in case there wasn't enough room in the actual bin for the offcuts. He's a thoughtful dawgie, like that.
Next job was to make up the flour/egg/breadcrumb plates. The flour was easy enough, or so I thought. It seems that the abortive gnocchi attempt had used up all our plain flour, but fortunately we had lots of bread flour, which got used instead.
I consulted the recipe (which again, I can't remember where I got it from. I am SO going to have to keep a note of recipe sources) as to how much dijon mustard to use in the egg mix. I had copied down three tablespoonfuls! Surely not! I pondered this for a while, then decided on three teaspoonfuls as being the far more sensible alternative. As it was, I would only use two teaspoonfuls in future, as it had far too obvious an influence on the overall flavour, I felt.
Next, was the breadcrumbs, garlic and herbs. I quickly ran two slices of Oatilicious bread across the grater to create the 1 cup of breadcrumbs. Next, I grated two cloves of garlic in there, then chopped a tablespoonful of fresh parsley and a teaspoonful of dried tarragon. If I could have found fresh tarragon, I'd have used it. However, Mr Asda hadn't heard of fresh tarragon, so that was that. In retrospect, I'd cut the garlic down to one clove, as it did tend to slap you around the face a bit. Between the garlic and the mustard, I'm afraid the tarragon took a very back seat - which wasn't how it was supposed to be, I'm sure!
So, on with the dipping. First in the flour, then the egg mix, then onto the breadcrumbs. It occurred to me then, that I had no idea whether I was supposed to be breadcrumbing one side or both sides. Although the one side I had done, had used an enormous amount of the breadcrumb mixture and I really wasn't sure it would last for all six. Still, it didn't seem to make sense to do just one side, so after a bit of judicious dusting off, I breadcrumbed both sides. In fact, I ran out of breadcrumbs towards the end and the last two had just one side breadcrumbed - so I'd make a little more, the next time I do this one.
Something else that I would make sure to do, is to turn the steaks halfway through cooking. Because I didn't do this, one side was crunchy and the other a tad soggy - which was a shame. However, you live and learn.
Once the Pork was safely in the oven and the Sweet Potatoes had been turned, I got on with the Tomato Salad. It was a simple matter of slicing two large vine ripened tomatoes and some cherry tomatoes. Then add liberal amounts of freshly ground pepper, a sprinkling of sea salt, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and likewise of extra virgin olive oil. Next, slice up a red onion and sprinkle that over the top, along with a little of the parsley - or basil, if you've got it. Leave to let the flavours mingle for some 15-20 minutes before serving.
So, the last thing to do was the Chilli cream to go in the Baked Sweet Potatoes. Again, this is incredibly easy. Decant a small pot of soured cream into a bowl, add finely chopped fresh red chilli and some finely chopped parsley. There is an alternative, which involves coriander instead of the parsley and lime zest. I love this particular version, however son & heir isn't good with lime, so we had the parsley version.
I loved this meal, even though the Pork was way too garlicky for my taste. Hubby had problems with the garlic too, and found the Pork wasn't tender enough for his preference. He loved the Baked Sweet Potato and chilli cream, plus the tomatoes. Son & heir ate everything except the last half of his sweet potato, which was incredible considering what a fussy-pants he's becoming. He even ate the cherry tomatoes with balsamic on them! Mind you, I didn't tell him about the balsamic. *wink* I thought I'd just wait and see.
So, apart from the problems I've outlined above, I think next time I'd flatten out two of the steaks in the hope that they would be able to become more tender during the cooking process. I can't think of any other way of ensuring they come up more tender that doesn't include par-cooking them before adding the egg and breadcrumb mix, which isn't the best route!
Here's the recipe for the Pork, if you need the recipe for either the potatoes or the tomato salad, just let me know and I'll include them.
CRUNCHY BAKED PORK (feeds 3)
Ingredients :
6 pork steaks, or 3 pork chops
1 cup of plain flour
1 egg, whisked lightly
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.
Method :
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180deg C/350 deg F/Gas mark 4.
2. Trim the pork of the majority of its fat and prepare a roasting tray to receive it once coated with breadcrumbs.
3. Then, prepare three plates - one with the flour, plus some seasoning. The second with the egg and mustard mixture and the last with the breadcrumbs, garlic and herbs.
4. Dip each steak or chop into firstly the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs and place it onto the roasting tray.
5. Once every one is coated, place the roasting tray into the oven for 15 minutes. At the end of that time, remove from the oven and flip over onto its other side. Replace and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until they appear to be done.
6. Serve.
.
Ciabatta-style bread, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, char-grilled.
Then rubbed with garlic and grilled again.
Then the vine ripened tomatoes were char-grilled, while the basil went onto the rolls, followed by the tomato when it was done.
Balsamic vinegar was then drizzled over the tomatoes and salt & pepper added, before a final flourish of Feta cheese.
Absolutely divine.
.
Our very good friends Laura & David recently let us have a collection of french kilner-style jars along with a monumental jam boiler.
Having the jars has meant that one of hubby's long-standing wants has been satisfied - that of making his own pickled onions.
Having accumulated the acquired wisdom of various websites, together with the small amount of ingredients required, he set to. The vinegar quantities are a bit of an experiment, as the total quantity needs to be 1 litre but we were keen to achieve the dark brown and flavour that the balsamic brings. Equally, the spice is completely up to you!
PICKLED ONIONS (makes two 750 ml jars)
Ingredients :
1kg pickling onions
50g salt
900ml pickling vinegar
100ml balsamic vinegar
180g sugar
half a tsp peppercorns
half a tsp coriander seed
a chilli
Method :
1. Top and tail the onions.
2. Blanche them in boiling water, with the skins on, for 20 secs.
3. Put onions into cold water to stop them cooking & peel them under the water to prevent oxidisation and toughening.
4. Drain the onions and place into a bowl, then sprinkle with 50g salt, cover and leave overnight.
5. Be amazed at the amount of water that has come from the onions, drain them and thoroughly rinse under cold water and put to dry on kitchen paper.
6. In a saucepan, combine the pickling vinegar, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Bring to the boil and turn off the heat, allowing the mixture to cool slightly.
7. Place onions into clean sterilized jars with peppercorns, coriander seed, a chilli and anything else you like.
8. Pour in vinegar to the top of the jar to cover the onions, seal and leave for at least 1 week, but they get better the longer you leave them.
Roll on Christmas!
Hubby managed to pick up a pack of 12 speciality chipolatas for the price of an ordinary pack of sausages, the other day. Although there were 12 in the pack, I felt they were a bit on the teensy side to be treated as just plain old sausages to be had with mash or suchlike, so began looking for a casserole-type dish to use them in.
I turned up a recipe for Sausage Goulash, which looked like it would have good results. Indeed, it would have done, had it not have been for the accidental heavy hand with the crushed chillies and the quantity of paprika, which to hubby's taste was rather too strong.
Still, I enjoyed both the paprika and the chillies! However, because I know that I'm currently going through a chilli-phase, I've re-written the recipe for another go at it, this time adjusting the quantities a tad. Oh, and I'll try not to have a nerve jump in my hand right at the moment I'm shaking out a half a teaspoon of crushed chillies, next time. LOL
Incidentally, it would be easy for it to stretch to feed more people simply by including more vegetables in the mix. Potato, sweet potato, parsnip, swede, peas, sweetcorn, green beans - all these would go very nicely.
SAUSAGE GOULASH (serves 3)
Ingredients
1 pack of sausages
2 onions, sliced thinly
2 cloves of garlic, grated or chopped
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 bay leaves (optional, depending on how herby the sausages are)
1 heaped tsp Paprika
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
half a tsp dried chilli flakes
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
4-5 mushrooms, quartered
1 small can kidney beans
1 small can chick peas or cannelini beans
600ml chicken stock
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Plain yoghurt to garnish
Method
1. Brown the sausages in a deep saucepan, then set aside.
2. Fry sliced onions and garlic gently until golden, but not caramelised.
3. Add paprika and stock.
4. Add carrots, chick peas and beans, bay leaves, tomato puree & tomato ketchup and mushrooms.
5. Return the sausages to the pan and simmer until the carrots are tender.
6. Add the balsamic vinegar and simmer for 15 minutes more.
7. To serve, decant into warmed bowls and add a generous blob of natural yoghurt on top. If you really want to show off, add a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Serve with crusty bread.
Saturday afternoon was taken up with making Spiced Plum Chutney.
It was my first go at any kind of chutney, but having had such success with the small batch jam, I was filled with hope that the results would be good. I chose a basic recipe from James Martin which I got creative with and added a few things. I have to say, that apart from it being rather more “soupy” than I wanted, the flavours are terrific and it goes marvellously well with a lovely strong cheddar.
It was remarkably easy to do :
Ingredients
2 shallots, chopped fine.
2 tsp olive oil.
500g plums, stoned and quartered.
50ml cider vinegar.
50ml balsamic vinegar.
Half a tsp cinnamon.
Half a tsp ground coriander.
Small piece of ginger, grated.
100g dark brown sugar.
Method
1. Begin by sweating off the chopped shallots in the oil. Once softened and transparent, add the plums, vinegar, cinnamon, coriander, ginger and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
2. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 mins or so, stirring from time to time, until the mixture thickens slightly.
I didn’t go for the sterilised jars option, I just put mine into a lidded dish and now it lives in the fridge. I doubt very much that it will last long enough to go off!
